Platform

Increase the funding pool for B-status groups

Executive Committee receives 2.5% of the total Student Activities Fee (SAF) for its Winter Funding cycle for B-status student groups (Dance Marathon, ISBE, Boomshaka, Fusion Dance Co. are a few examples). This 2.5% of the SAF translates to about $20,000 to go between all B-status groups that apply for funding. During the '06-'07 academic year, 36 B-status groups applied for funding and their requests totaled $97,744. Executive Committee at the time only had $19,514 to give out.

This year, 39 B-status groups and 3 co-sponsorships applied and their requests totaled $98,027. Due to a slight increase in the SAF this year, Executive Committee had $21,421 to give out.

Having been a part of both B-status funding cycles, I'm lobbying to increase the percentage of the SAF allocated to the Executive Committee for B-status funding. I'm committed to working with the Financial Vice President and ASG Senate to increase the percentage by a very modest amount. I understand the limits of the SAF and how it affects other student groups on campus and want to work to increase the percentage by anywhere from 0.5% to 1%. Given the improvements B-status funding has brought to this campus in terms of student group programming, given the opportunities the funding cycle has provided the B-status groups, and given the funding cycle's successful track record, an increase in the money allocated to Executive Committee is definitely warranted. I'm content with a slight increase in allocation primarily because a lot of B-status group requests are not overtly grandiose to begin with and even a little bit more money could go a long way.

Along with this increase, I also plan on mandating an annual review of Executive Committee funding by Senate in the Spring following a Winter funding cycle. This would give the Executive Vice President an opportunity to submit funding details to the Senate of the most recent funding cycle and petition if necessary for an increase to the funding pool. Senate would have the ultimate say in this matter, but such a mandated review would allow for open discussion about funding between the Executive Committee and the rest of ASG.

Increase student group collaboration on campus

Regardless of all the competitiveness of funding, there's something to be said about the collaborative and helping nature of student groups on this campus. Whether it's sharing a garage for storage or lights for a show, student groups are actively engaged in pooling resources for the betterment of campus programming. This trend is very encouraging to me primarily because I think there's a lot student groups can learn from each other, especially things that can't be passed on through pamphlets and resource handbooks.

This is the reason I want to hold voluntary "workshops" where student group leaders can come learn and exchange ideas about everything from how to approach a new venue to sharing instructional tips about set design. I think there's merit to having an avenue for student group leaders to share their experiences with each other. I would want to get groups with similar interests—regardless of their ASG recognition status—together once a quarter for these voluntary sessions, which I think will not only bring student groups on this campus closer together but will serve to improve campus programming. The groups would dictate the agenda of these quarterly meetings. If, for example, there is a dance group that is attempting to build a set for the first time, the "workshop" might be led by experienced theatre groups who could share their technical expertise and give direction.

I think allowing this opportunity for student groups to network with each other on a quarterly basis will be beneficial for campus programming. The workshops won't necessarily always be led by student groups, but also could involve participation from a member from the Center for Student Involvement or even Norris who may have expertise in a certain area of interest.

These "workshops" I think will open up lines of communication between student groups on campus and help generate more ideas for co-sponsorships too. I hope this won't only be an educational opportunity for groups, but also a way to expand their programming.

Make internal improvements to the Executive Committee

Executive Committee consists of twelve extremely dedicated and hard working individuals. The hours they put in to help out student groups truly make a difference. The Executive Committee has already experienced great successes this year; an extremely smooth B-status winter funding cycle and the creation of a Group Executive accountability bill to increase transparency to the Senate are some of the accomplishments that immediately come to mind. This mindset of self-improvement in order to enhance student group experience on this campus is what defines this committee. I want to continue this trend of making internal improvements, which will help the committee serve groups more effectively.

Specifically, I want to improve the way the committee handles documentation and approaches record keeping of the forms that come in. I want to store the information that the committee obtains over the course of a year in an easily searchable archive so that future committees will have a better view of the progress of a student group. We need to improve the way we maintain documents as important as student group constitutions so that they can easily be reviewed by committee members.

I also want to improve the way new members to Executive Committee are trained for their position. I don’t want to just thrust groups onto new members and hope they pick up things along the way. I really want to ensure that group executives have the necessary resources to help out groups and a clear knowledge of what is expected of them so that student groups are served in the best way possible. In this way, I also want to unite committee members under the common goal of doing what’s best for student groups on this campus.

Other Issues

Rehearsal Space:
I acknowledge that limited rehearsal space on campus for student groups is a major concern. It'd be presumptuous of me to say that I know the exact solution to this problem, especially when people within the Center for Student Involvement, among others, have been working diligently to solve this problem. I am therefore willing to work with CSI and others to find an answer to better the student group experience on this campus.

LAB (Spring Leadership Training):
Leadership Advisory Board (LAB) in the Spring is probably one of the least enjoyable mandatory events according to student groups. It's hard to make discussions about rules and policies exciting, but I want to gather feedback from student leaders and try to make LAB a bit less cumbersome.